I'm not comfortable focusing on "baby Jesus and (certainly not!) mother Mary" on Christmas. The truth is Jesus Christ is coming back as a Conquerer and exalted King, and I prefer to focus on His second coming yet in our future.
Cousequently, my family's Bible reading for this Christmas is Isaiah 65:9-25. Be in awe of the Coming King!
9 I will preserve a remnant of the people of Israel
and of Judah to possess my land.
Those I choose will inherit it,
and my servants will live there.
10 The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks
for my people who have searched for me,
and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds.
11 “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord
and have forgotten his Temple,
and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate
and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
12 now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword.
All of you will bow down before the executioner.
For when I called, you did not answer.
When I spoke, you did not listen.
You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes—
and chose to do what you know I despise.”
13 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“My servants will eat,
but you will starve.
My servants will drink,
but you will be thirsty.
My servants will rejoice,
but you will be sad and ashamed.
14 My servants will sing for joy,
but you will cry in sorrow and despair.
15 Your name will be a curse word among my people,
for the Sovereign Lord will destroy you
and will call his true servants by another name.
16 All who invoke a blessing or take an oath
will do so by the God of truth.
For I will put aside my anger
and forget the evil of earlier days.
17 “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
18 Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!
And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness.
Her people will be a source of joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and delight in my people.
And the sound of weeping and crying
will be heard in it no more.
20 “No longer will babies die when only a few days old.
No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life.
No longer will people be considered old at one hundred!
Only the cursed will die that young!
21 In those days people will live in the houses they build
and eat the fruit of their own vineyards.
22 Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses
and confiscate their vineyards.
For my people will live as long as trees,
and my chosen ones will have time to enjoy their hard-won gains.
23 They will not work in vain,
and their children will not be doomed to misfortune.
For they are people blessed by the Lord,
and their children, too, will be blessed.
24 I will answer them before they even call to me.
While they are still talking about their needs,
I will go ahead and answer their prayers!
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together.
The lion will eat hay like a cow.
But the snakes will eat dust.
In those days no one will be hurt or destroyed on my holy mountain.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
5 comments:
Merry Christmas End_Times.
It is currently 9:14PM here in Maputo, Mozambique. My kids are to bed and my wife is settling down to read her bible. I sat out on the patio and watched a huge full moon rise over the Indian Ocean and witnessed a large Meteor streak across the sky. It was a perfect day followed by a perfect evening.
I thanked God for the incredible good fortune my family and I have, for our health and prosperity, and for God's continued blessings. I can not begin to fathom what 2008 may bring, but with a Savior giving me days like I had today, we'll do just fine.
I pray that your Holiday is filled with the same joy and happiness.
Merry Christmas to everyone else that reads ET's Caffeine Journal. If I can dare speak for everyone else known and for those lurking in the cyber shadows. Thank you for creating this forum ET. You offer refreshing insite.
NB
You're very welcome. I'm convinced that we are living in a very significant time in God's plan for Israel. One of these (literal) days the earth is going to shake with the second coming of the King.
God bless you and your family with an ever closer relationship with the Lord, until we see Him face to face. It can't be long.
Thats an awesome piece of scripture!!
Merry Christmas, ET!
And Merry Christmas to you, NB!
I can only imagine how beautiful the world looks from your patio!
Sounds really nice.
Merry Christmas, JT! See you soon???
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